Dia de los Eddy: a Day in 1 Minute

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start making a video about every day in la casa de Rivas. I’m not really sure what started the idea (probably because we didn’t have power for about 12 hours on a Sunday and I got bored), but I’ve been mostly sticking with it, minus a day here and there.

There’s actually something really fun and challenging about trying to figure out new ways to communicate the same information over and over. The same kind of challenges a writer faces all the time.

Also it’s nice having a record of this time in my daughters’ lives. I think in a few years’ time I’ll be pretty happy that I did this.

Here are some of my favorites:


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Krav Maga Demonstration

I get asked a lot about Krav Maga, both online and off. The short version is that I’ve been training for almost 5 years now, and hope to one day become an instructor. It started as just a way to lose weight, but it’s turned into something more than that for me.

I could go on and on about it, but here’s a demonstration I recently saw of Eyal Yanilov, the head of our organization (and the successor to Krav Maga founder Imi Lichtenfeld).

I’ve had the great pleasure of training with Eyal on several occasions. I have to say, it’s pretty cool that this guy signed my instructor certificate.

It’s not a flashy martial art by any means, which is one of the things I like about it. React and counter attack quickly, using the shortest distance available between any of your weapons and the target. It’s an aggressive practice, wherein you switch into a different mindset to defend yourself and become the attacker.

The two things I really love about Krav Maga: first, I think everyone should know at least a little bit about how to protect themselves. But second, you learn some really interesting things about yourself when you are pushed past what you thought you could handle. Your body and mind are capable of a lot more than you think they are. It’s cool to see both of them develop.

Shredding and Editing

I’ve been anticipating 2011 as the year of the revision, much like 2010 was the year of the first draft. As such, this means that I’m now tackling the lengthy process of printing, reading and revising, and so far it’s been a mixed bag.

Oddly enough, I actually decided to revise the most recent book first, the fully fleshed out version of In the Blood (although that will not be the final title). I came to this conclusion for a number of reasons. Continue reading →